CMC Report

April 2025 – by Al Mangels

The NESMA Technical Development Committee met on April 9th , 2025. At this time of year, as the traditional school year nears its end, much of the focus has been on the various career readiness events being held around the region, as students make decisions about their future careers and courses of study. It’s an ideal time
for NESMA employers to reach out to the student bodies for summer or fall interns or pre-apprentices, or to those that will be graduating and seeking apprenticeships or other employment.

For example, the South-Central Regional roadshow was held at Quinnipiac University on April 2nd, where hundreds of high school
students and then college students attended. This will be followed by two more roadshows in May:

  • The Northwest CT Manufacturing Careers Roadshow ’25 on May 8th at the MASC center in Waterbury (https://readyct.org/manufacturing-careers-roadshow-2025/ ).
  • The North Central CT Manufacturing Careers Roadshow ’25 (Manufacturer ConneCTion Fair 2025) on May 15that the Capital in Hartford (https://www.housedems.ct.gov/mcf ).

Other roadshows will follow in other regions, and all can be a source for college interns to engage in the CT Manufacturing Internship program (https://www.makermultipliers.com/internship-program ), where they can participate in orientation, professional development, attend lunchtime webinars and visit manufacturers around the state, building knowledge and a community of peers. An orientation event for interns will occur on June 4th at the Trumpf facility in Farmington. Employers with less than 300 CT employees are eligible for up to $14,000 total in matching grant funding for up to 4 interns.

There was also a plant tour on April 10th when Jill O’Brien from Plainville High Schools and Adult Ed led a collaboration of Adult Ed students on a visit to Acme-Monaco as part of PHS’ “Learning on the Go” program. Jill said “I just wanted to share how grateful I am for the incredible hospitality shown at ACME Monaco. Lucas, Rebecca and their team provided our Plainville Adult Education learning community with a fabulous tour today, and we were all impressed with the physical cleanliness and intricate processes associated with modern manufacturing. We learned so much, and we are excited to share how promising a career in
manufacturing would be!”

Additional plant visits will be planned for the Fall 2025 semester.
We should also mention that on May 7th , 2025, NESMA , in cooperation with Wafios AG, is sponsoring a FREE WEBINAR showcasing EV Technology. This one-hour webinar, being held from11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, is being offered to students, teachers, and any other interested parties, and is an ideal opportunity for students to gain a glimpse into the high-tech world of spring manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the Tunxis Advanced Manufacturing Center is now open and the Director, Jordan Dombrowski, reiterated his support for dialog regarding curricula. We also still look forward to our efforts to bring a hands-on program to the MASC center Waterbury, especially starting in May as they complete their roll-out of a metals finishing course (https://mascttc.com/ ).

Our SMI committee that has been developing curricula is winding down the finishing details of the joint WAI and SMI 200 course “Mechanics and Spring Materials” that could also be completed in May. As always, a complete list of SMI webinar courses and dates can be found here: https://www.smihq.org/spring-design-training-program/ .

I do need to thank all of the vendors and NESMA staff that made our 2025 Comedy Night and Tabletop Vendors Show such a success. It was great to network with many within our industry. We all look forward to the 5th Yard Goats Game Night Out (May 14th), and we wish the new leaders of our Future Leaders of Manufacturing (FLM) Committee Angela DeAngelo and Janina Bracht the best of the success. We hope that they can help to be the face of NESMA’s outreach to our regional schools. In speaking last week, for example, with Laura Lanza, STEM Supervisor at Bristol Public Schools, she mentioned how they would welcome more interaction between the schools and local industry.

Finally, looking ahead to the fall, NESMA and Wafios are planning a regional training session in spring end grinding, with a target date of September 23rd. The prospective venue is the Wafios facility in Branford. This would not be for students per se, but rather for the NESMA members’ workforce that engages in spring end grinding operations. (i.e., incumbent workers). The content will be similar to the joint SMI / Wafios in-person grinding training event held last year in Mokena, IL, and is applicable to almost any type or brand of grinding equipment, but in a shorter, approximately 6-hour, format. We are inquiring as to whether the cost of
attending the training session could be covered by the CT Incumbent Worker Training Program (IWT) as administered by CCAT, whereby eligible employers could recoup half of the cost of their employees’ attendance. More to follow.

Thanks to everyone on the Technical Development Committee for your continued support!